Closure or stopper for serum-containers, &amp;c.



P. J. McELROY.

CLOSURE 0R STOPPER FOR SERUM CONTAINERS, 8w.

APPLICATlON FILED NOV. 29. 1915.

Patented Apr. 25, 1916.

(I FATRIU JLMQEL U w i A insects.

I To all whom) it may concern:

-]Be it known that I, PATRICK J..MEr.nor,

a citizen oi the United States, residing at Cambridge, in the county ofl /lliddlesex and State of Massachusetts,- have invented new and usefulImprovements in Closures or Stoppers tor Serum-Containers, &c.,-' ofwhich. the following is a specification;

This invention relates to a container'tor 1o storing and injectingserum, the container being provided with a stopper of compressibleresilient material, such as rubber or cork, formed as a radiallycompressible plug and closing its outlet opening, and adapted to receivea-cannula through which the serum is ejected by means provided for thatpurpose.

In some cases the stopper has heretofore been made imperforate, and ispunctured by the cannula, the latter being provided With a sharplypointed inner end adapted to puncture the stopper. A cannula isnecessarily a slender or attenuated tube so that it is liable to bebroken by the-force required to drive it through an imperforate stopperformed as a plug andradially' compressed .by the outlet wall in whichit. is.

inserted. Moreover'it is not an easy matter to so .drive'the cannulathat itwill be centrally located and parallel with the axis at thestopper. There is also liability of clogging the inner endi'of the lumenof the. cannula by -material separated from the body of thesto'pper bythe cutting action of the cannula.

vided with .a passage or lumen for the re- 4'0 permits liqu d to. passthrough. it when the cannula is not present, the cannula being-vprovided with means whereby the escape of" liquid is prevented when thecannula .is' partly withdrawn from fits'foperative 'position.

My invention end; and normall closed and rendered MclELROY, orcartnarnen, nassacmi'sn'r'rs, assrenron or earn-e 1: an COMPY, we, ornos'ron', raassacn'usnrrs.

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particularly when the a part of'this speci sents a longitudinal sectionof a stopper fiembodying my invention inserted in the goutletend of aserum container, the cannula :being absent; Fig. 2 represents a viewsirni- -lar to Fig. l, the' cannula being present; Fig. 3 represents anenlarged section on line 33 of Fig. 1; Fig. 4 represents an enlarged Inother cases the stopper has been pro- "rendered liquid-tight b isembodied in an article: of manufacture, to wit,*a stopperltormed as aradiall compressible plug having a longi-lf body of the 'stopper'permitting the easy. insertion of a cannula-having a blunt inner &c.

Specification of Le ers Patent. l pmtgmhgd App, 25, 11%1, Applicationfiled November ae, raw. Serial No. 633%. i

stopper is radially compressed by insertion "in the container outlet,the stopper constituting a liquidtight closure when the cannula isabsent.

Of the accoinpanging drawings forming cation, Figure 1 represection online H of Fig. 2; Figs. 5 and '6 represent transverse sections of astopper showing diderent forms of lumina; Fig. 7

represents a longitudinal section of a sto]pt e per having a lumenextending from,

inner end of the stopper partly to the outer end; Fig. 8 represents asectional view showing the stopper represented by Fig. 7 in-' sorted ina container outlet; Fig, 9 represents a section on line 9-9 of mg. 7;Fig. 10 represents a section on line. 10-10 of Fig.7.

The same reference characters indicate the same or similar parts in allthe views.

fill

in. the drawings, '12 represents the body and 13 the outlet of a serumcontainer of an suitable form, thecontainer being provi ed with means(not shown) for e ecting the serum throu h a cannula inserted in thestopper hereina 'er described.

l-t represents a stopper or closure made of compressible elasticmaterial such as rubber or cork and formed as a plu to be inserted inthe outlet 13 and radially compressed by the wall of said outletform in.the stopper 14a longitudinal lumen 15 which is surrounded by the body otthe stopperand is'normally closed and the resilience of be' curvedfa'sindicated by Figs.

The lumen preferablylhas parallel sides normallypressed closelytogether. :1 The said sides-may h 4 I 3, 4 and 10. They may howeverbeother lience of, id body,

said body and is more tightly closed-by the radial. compression of; saidbody caused by itsinsertionin the outlet '13, the o eration offormingsaid lumen being one oft e steps otthe operation ct manufacturingthe stopwisejtetmcd, as indicated by .llliffi; and 6., g I

Fig. 5 showing a lumen which is cruciform in cross section, so that ithas more than two abutting sides. Fig. 6 shows a lumen having twoabutting sides, said sides being flat instead of curved.

The lumen may be formed in the otherwise completed body of the stopperby a suitvulcanization and being subsequently removed.

It will now be seen that when a cannula 16 having a blunt inner end 17and a lateral liquid bore 18 communicating with the lumen of the cannulais inserted in the stopper lumen 15, it is enabled by'the latter to passreadily through the stopper, the sides of the stopper lumen beingpressed closely against the periphery of the cannula and forming aliquid-tight joint therewith. When the cannula is removed the sides 'ofthe stopper lumen close together so that no liquid can escapetherethrough.

In Figs. 7 and 8 I show a lumen having a normally closed portion 15characterize 'as above stated, extending from the inner end of thestopper partly to its outer end, and an enlarged normally openportion'l9 extending from the normally closed portion to theouter-end-of the stopper, and adapted to receive the cannula withoutbeing a preciably' distended thereby, so that the frictional resistanceto the insertion of the cannula is considerably reduced,

The stopper is self-sealing because its lumen is automatically closed orsealed as above described.

. closed throughout its length by the elasticity of the said body,whereby the lumen is selfsealing and liquid tight, said lumen beingdistensible by a blunt ended cannula inserted in It. e

2. As an article of manufacture, a resilient self-sealing aperturedclosure or stopper formed as a radially compressible plug provided witha longitudinal lumen surrounded by the body of the stopper and includingan inner portion extending from the inner end of the stopper partly toits outer end, and adapted to be closed by radial compression of thesurrounding portion of the stopper, and an enlarged normally open outerportion extending to the outer end of the stop-- per, and formed toreceive a cannula Without being distended thereby, the inner portionbeing distensible by the cannula.

In testimony whereof I have affixed my signature. I 1

PATRICK J. MOELROY.

